Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Greater New Orleans

Change Region

comments

City Council expected to vote on Old Mandeville storm surge study Thursday

gazebopic.jpg

The City Council is expected to vote on a resolutionThursday night to authorize the Mandeville Shoreline Protection Study, which would identify ways to alleviate flooding in the historic community.
(Kim Chatelain, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

The Mandeville City Council is expected to vote Thursday night on a $280,000 contract with an engineering firm that would be tasked with finding ways to protect the city's shoreline from storm surges. If the council approves, Mayor Donald Villere will be authorized to sign a contract with GEC Engineers to perform the Old Mandeville Shoreline Protection Study Project.

In July, the city was awarded a $160,000 federal grant administered through the Lake Pontchartrain Restoration Act that to help pay for the study. Villere said the award was recently increased to $180,000. The city plans to contribute $100,000 from its coffers towards the study, he said.

"We want to make sure we do everything right with this study and get a good product," Villere said.

If the council authorizes the contract, a community meeting will be held Sept. 30 to allow GEC to get public input on the storm surge issue. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Paul Spitzfaden Community Center in Mandeville.

City officials hope the study will produce viable alternatives for protection against storm surges that have repeatedly flooded the Old Mandeville area over the years. Some residents said they have experienced major flooding every two years on average over the past two decades. And, they fear climate change and flood protection work in other New Orleans area locations could make matters worse for the Mandeville lakefront.

Last summer's Hurricane Isaac flooded about 140 structures and made a mess of Old Mandeville by leaving behind mountains of marsh grass, logs and other debris.

The Lake Pontchartrain Restoration Act involves a federal-local partnership designed to restore and support the lake. City officials said the storm surge study qualified for funding under the act because the flooding of lakefront neighborhoods causes infiltration problems for the sewage system, which in turn can pollute the lake.

City officials said they hope the study will identify methods to block storm water from being pushed into Ravine aux Couquille and to de-energize wave action that overwhelms the seawall. Some residents and city officials say they oppose an elevated concrete wall or earthen levee along the shore, which would obstruct the view of the lake.

GEC was established in 1986 as a small engineering consulting firm in Baton Rouge, and now has offices in Mandeville, Lafayette, Metairie, Gulfport, Jacksonville, Fla., and Delaplane, Va., according to the company's website.

The City Council meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 3101 East Causeway Approach.